Astronomy with an Opera-glass: A Popular Introduction to the Study of the Starry Heavens with the Simplest of Optical InstrumentsServiss, Garrett Putman
Science
Astronomy with an Opera-glass: A Popular Introduction to the Study of the Starry Heavens with the Simplest of Optical Instruments
Serviss, Garrett Putman
Astronomy
A sharp contrast in the color of Castor and Pollux comes out as soon as
the glass is turned upon them. Castor is white, with occasionally,
perhaps, a suspicion of a green ray in its light. Pollux is deep yellow.
Castor is a celebrated double star, but its components are far too close
to be separated with an opera-glass, or even the most powerful
field-glass. You will be at once interested by the singular _cortege_ of
small stars by which both Castor and Pollux are surrounded. These little
attendant stars, for such they seem, are arrayed in symmetrical
groups--pairs, triangles, and other figures--which, it seems difficult
to believe, could be unintentional, although it would be still more
difficult to suggest any reason why they should be arranged in that way.
[Illustration: MAP 3.]
Our map will show you the position of the principal stars of the
constellation. Castor and Pollux are in the heads of the Twins, while
the row of stars shown in the map Xi ([xi]), Gamma ([gamma]), Nu ([nu]),
Mu ([mu]), and Eta ([eta]), marks their feet, which are dipped in the
edge of the Milky-Way. One can spend a profitable and pleasurable
half-hour in exploring the wonders of Gemini. The whole constellation,
from head to foot, is gemmed with stars which escape the naked eye, but
it sparkles like a bead-spangled garment when viewed with the glass.
Owing to the presence of the Milky-Way, the spectacle around the feet of
the Twins is particularly magnificent. And here the possessor of a good
opera-glass can get a fine view of a celebrated star-cluster known in
the catalogues as 35 M. It is situated a little distance northwest of
the star Eta, and is visible to the naked eye, on a clear, moonless
night, as a nebulous speck. With a good glass you will see two wonderful
streams of little stars starting, one from Eta and the other from Mu,
and running parallel toward the northwest; 35 M is situated between
these star-streams. The stars in the cluster are so closely aggregated
that you will be able to clearly separate only the outlying ones. The
general aspect is like that of a piece of frosted silver over which a
twinkling light is playing. A field-glass brings out more of the
component stars. The splendor of this starry congregation, viewed with a
powerful telescope, may be guessed at from Admiral Smyth's picturesque
description: "It presents a gorgeous field of stars, from the ninth to
the sixteenth magnitude, but with the center of the mass less rich than
the rest. From the small stars being inclined to form curves of three or
four, and often with a large one at the root of the curve, it somewhat
reminds one of the bursting of a sky-rocket." And Webb adds that there
is an "elegant festoon near the center, starting with a reddish star."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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